Hi guys, I have 03 Honda Fit with I-DSI engine. Starts perfectly fine when cold, but if the engine is at operating temperature, the stats become noticeably worse - the starter has to crank for 1-2 seconds.

What is typically the cause of this?
My car has 190.000 kms, I put in:

• new NGK spark plugs
• new Hitachi ignition coils
• did a valve adjustment
• cleaned the throttle body
• charged the battery
• put in a new air filter
• disconnected and reconnected the battery
• I don't have any check engine light

Not done:

• I don't have any check engine light
• I did not check or bleed the cooling system, but don't see any leaks and the car is not overheating
• I did not test any sensors

The behavior was there at the beginnig too (before any servicing) - I was hoping all the new stuff would fix it, but apparently no.
Another thing that's suspicious is the idle seems high in Neutral, but feels low when standing still in Drive (CVT) - but that might be just the clutch being tired and dragging too much? Dunno.

Thanks everyone for help!

 

Is your car a Japanese domestic market import? If so, I have the same car except it's a year older and has done about 110,000km. Starting it is exactly the same. From cold is quicker - Perhaps this is because of the automatic choke?

In any case, I don't think 1 to 2 seconds when warm is anything to worry about - I think it's both normal and acceptable.

I'll check the idle speeds in neutral and drive - I think mine is the same so probably normal. The thing to watch for with these cars is the start clutch producing a heavy vibration when pulling away or under heavy load like when climbing a steep hill slowly. Honda offered a free retrofit modified clutch here in Japan if people complained enough within 7 years. Otherwise they changed the fluid for a slightly different type and that sometimes worked. Even if you have had the modified clutch fitted the problem will return after about 35k km - It will disappear with fresh fluid though.

 

OK so confirmed. The revs at idle do drop noticeably when you shift from N to D. My start clutch was replaced with the modified unit at about 60k so I don't think there is anything wrong with it. The fall in revs is normal I think. It even sounds very controlled and smooth.

 

Hey Wage Slave, indeed I have a JDM version, I did have transmission shudders, but those went away after CVT fluid change. Hopefully it will last some time.
Interesting you have same problem with starts. My friend has 2 years newer same model Fit, but his starts just fine. I guess I'll just keep checking and cleaning things until it improves.

Meanwhile, I sorted the wonky idle problem, it was the IACV.
Before, the idle was all over the place - when hot in Neutral, it was 1500, when in Drive it was way low (700) and sometimes the engine felt like stalling.
I opened up the IACV. It looks like this: https://fcache1.pakwheels.com/origin...9f350c4d05.jpg
There is a rotating thingy inside, that's controlled by electromagnet. Problem was, it was a bit gunked up, so it wasn't rotating smoothly and sticking. I cleaned it up so it felt super smooth. For that, I had to undo the black plastic end. But beware, it's adjustable, and before unscrewing it you have to mark the original position. Also all the screws on IACV are total pain in the ass to loosen.

 

Oh wow - good for you.

Regarding starting, I have noticed a slightly higher than spec battery consumption but I put that down to my always buying cheapo batteries and the fact our car is constantly doing very short runs. Perhaps it should start a bit quicker when hot - I'll keep an eye on it.

I haven't done anything at all on mine except change the airfilter, oil filter and oil once a year. Apart from the juddering issue it has run and is running more or less flawlessly as far as I can tell so I'm leaving alone for the present.

It might be interesting to compare consumption. I have a two year average of 10.8 km/ltr. That's 90% stop/start city driving (around here it's really stop/start) and the summer is pretty long, hot and humid so the aircon works hard for at least 4 months. I think that's about normal but I haven't really got any data to compare with.

One other thing with this car that you probably know already. If you have the base model like me then you don't have speakers in the rear. However the dash unit is set up for them with a fader and the wiring, plugs and mountings are in all place. All you have to do is find a couple of front speakers from a scrappy or somewhere and they will clip straight in and work.